Vibraphonist and composer Steve Shapiro has recorded with a diverse roster of artists, including Steely Dan, Ornette Coleman, Phil Collins, SpyroGyra, Whitney Houston, Roberta Flack, Regina Belle, Pat Martino, and They Might Be Giants. He has performed with jazz greats such as Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, and Marc Johnson. In addition, Steve has often collaborated with top Nashville guitarist Pat Bergeson (Chet Atkins, Bill Frisell, Lyle Lovett, Alison Krauss). The pair has released three CDs, including the projects Low Standards (Sons of Sound) and Backward Compatible (Apria Records).
Steve is also an accomplished producer and arranger whose work has appeared in hundreds of television and film projects. In 1993, he began an association with Disney/Pixar working on arrangements for the first Toy Story movie, and has since produced projects related to over 40 Disney feature film releases.
Steve grew up in Connecticut and was a member of an award-winning high school ensemble that toured Europe and produced many fine musicians (including pianist Brad Mehldau). During this time, he studied percussion with artists Bob Moses, Dave Samuels, and David Friedman, and composition with modern-jazz icons Steve Swallow and Anthony Davis.
Steve has explored advances in signal processing and amplification with the vibes, and has developed a unique voice inspired by contemporary instruments like the Fender Rhodes piano. He continues to write and perform with his group the electriQuartet, which focuses on extending the classic sound of the vibes. The band has featured a rotating lineup of many notable musicians in New York, including Dave Mann, Tim Ries, Doug Weiss, Jeff Williams, Andy Snitzer, Scott Kreitzer, Joel Rosenblatt, Mark Egan, Gil Parris, Clint deGanon, and Dave Anderson, among others.
Steve has received awards from Berklee College of Music and IAJE, and has been featured in magazines such as Mix, DownBeat, JazzTimes, The Village Voice, JazzEd, Video-Systems, and Modern Drummer. He remains an active performer and clinician, and has taught at Yale University, University of Delaware, and NYU.
Steve plays Mike Balter signature mallets.
